Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 299: Chapter 290: It seems that General Yang has great ambitions!

Just as Yang Zhenshan had thought, rumors about Zhou Lan cursing her husband were flying everywhere in the Capital City.

In the backyards of officials’ residences, at teahouses and taverns, countless people were discussing the matter.

All sorts of rumors and mockeries were being passed around, getting nastier as they spread.

However, for Duke Ning Mansion, the most troublesome issue wasn’t these ugly rumors, but the Huaijiang Marquis’s demands for retribution.

With Sui Yian’s death from illness, the Huaijiang Marquis family had lost their male heir. They blamed Zhou Lan, believing that it was her curse that had killed Sui Yian.

At this moment, the old lady of the Huaijiang Marquis family, Madam Zhang, was at Duke Ning Mansion demanding an explanation.

”Bring out that husband-cursing wretch, today she must join my son in burial!”

”Ah~~, Duke Ning Mansion is bullying people! The Duke Mansion is hitting me, wuu wuu, cursed my son to death, and now wants to kill me too, wuu wuu~~”

”You despicable woman, come out here~~”

Exquisite Duke Ning Mansion was enveloped in a swirl of curses and wailing.

The old lady of the Huaijiang Marquis was splashing around in the courtyard of the Duke Mansion like a shrew, cursing and swearing.

Meanwhile, the Madam of Duke Ning, Yang, was sitting in the hall, her face pale.

When had Duke Ning Mansion ever been so disgraced?

This is outrageous, outrageous!

Yang was furious, but she had no way to deal with Madam Zhang.

She couldn’t hit or scold her, she could only allow her to throw a fit here.

”Damned wretched spawn, you should die, oh heavens, open your eyes and take this cursed vermin away!”

Madam Zhang was still cursing, and Yang couldn’t hold back anymore, shouted, ”Enough!”

Imagine her, the dignified Madam of Duke Ning, when had she ever tolerated such outrageous behavior?

If not for the reputation of the Duke Mansion, she really wanted to slap this foul-mouthed shrew.

”Enough, how can it be enough, my son is dead!” Hearing Yang’s voice, Madam Zhang was even more energized, pointing at Yang and bellowing, ”Today, you at Duke Ning Mansion must give me an explanation, otherwise, I’ll never let this go!”

”Explain, what explanation?” Yang’s face remained stern as she asked.

Madam Zhang said through gritted teeth, ”Since that wretched girl was engaged to my son, then she must marry him in death!”

Yang’s face changed; she didn’t expect this shrew to harbor such malicious thoughts.

A ghost marriage!

Wasn’t that sending her daughter to her death?

Yang could no longer maintain her dignified demeanor and abruptly stood up, intending to scold Madam Zhang, the shrew.

But before she could speak, a figure walked out from the inner hall, ”What do you want?”

Hearing the voice, Yang turned to look; it was none other than Zhou Lan.

At that moment, Zhou Lan was dressed in dark black, her face as frosty as she stared at Madam Zhang.

”Lan’er!” Yang’s heart skipped a beat, suddenly having a bad premonition.

She understood her younger daughter’s temperament too well.

She was someone who would absolutely not suffer a loss!

Madam Zhang, the shrew, had been cursing here for quite some time, and that Zhou Lan had been patient until now was already remarkable. Now that Zhou Lan had shown up, trouble seemed imminent.

However, Madam Zhang didn’t know Yang’s concerns, and seeing Zhou Lan, her eyes instantly brightened. ”You little wretch, you’ve finally come out, I want you to die with my son!”

Hearing this, Zhou Lan’s eyes became icy to the extreme.

”Die with! I’ll send you to accompany your son first!”

clang~~

The long sword in her hand suddenly unsheathed, its fierce sword light streaking across like a long rainbow piercing the sun.

”Lan’er, don’t!” Yang turned pale with shock.

Zhou Lan stopped, her eyes filled with murderous intent as she stared at Madam Zhang’s ugly face.

”You, you, you, want to kill me!”

She was still trying to throw a fit.

Zhou Lan coldly said, ”In the Northern lands, tens of thousands of Hu Zei couldn’t drag this General down with them, and you think you can demand my life?”

”Get lost, and if you dare to say another word, this General will send you to meet your son!”

In terms of murderous intent, Zhou Lan might not be on par with Yang Zhenshan, but she was certainly not someone ordinary people could compare with.

And her control over her murderous aura was not as finely tuned as Yang Zhenshan’s; the aura exploded from her like a wild storm, engulfing Madam Zhang.

Madam Zhang’s body trembled like a sieve, and then a stench of urine spread from her.

”Get out!” Zhou Lan shouted coldly again.

Madam Zhang’s blank mind finally sparked with enlightenment, followed by one thought: run, run as far away as possible.

Like an instinctive reaction to danger, she said nothing, scurrying away with the stench of urine, scrambling and rolling as she fled.

Watching her flee, Zhou Lan’s eyes flashed with helplessness.

”Lan’er!” Yang called softly.

”Mom, I’m fine!” Zhou Lan reined in her killing intent and spoke softly.

Yang looked at her, her eyes rimmed with red, ”Oh, my unfortunate daughter!”

”Mom, my life isn’t unfortunate!” Zhou Lan’s expression became even more helpless.

In her younger days, she too had dreamed of marrying a man of her dreams, but now she no longer cared for such things. If there was a match, she would marry, if not, then not. As for the rumors, she didn’t care at all.

However, in her parents’ eyes, a daughter still needed to be married.

That was where she felt most helpless.

The shrew was driven away, and the Duke Mansion finally quieted down. Mother and daughter shared intimate conversation, but Yang was always preoccupied with Zhou Lan’s marriage, increasing Zhou Lan’s sense of helplessness.

And amidst the rumors surrounding Duke Ning Mansion and Huaijiang Marquis, the day to announce the results of the imperial examination arrived as scheduled.

Before dawn broke, the entrance to the examination hall was already bustling with a noisy crowd, the clamor unceasing.

In the small courtyard of the Yang family, Yang Mingcheng was also anxiously pacing the main hall. One moment he stepped outside to check the still dark sky; the next, he sat in the hall to sip some tea, his derrière seemingly unable to stay put, as if it had grown spikes.

”Has Wenyuan not gotten up yet?”

Unable to hold back, he asked Wu Zheng for the fourth time,

”Master, Young Master Wenyuan is still asleep!” Wu Zheng replied rather helplessly.

”Ah~~” Yang Mingcheng said somewhat dejectedly, ”How can he still be asleep?”

As the announcement of who passed the exam was imminent, Lu Wenyuan was not a bit nervous, while he himself had almost not slept at all during the night.

”Forget it, I’ll go wake him up!”

Yang Mingcheng felt his little cousin was a bit too carefree, and with haste, he ran to the side room to wake Lu Wenyuan from his slumber.

Moments later, a bleary-eyed Lu Wenyuan followed him to the main hall.

”Big brother, it’s only 5 a.m., we’ll have to wait at least until 9 a.m. for the announcement!” Lu Wenyuan complained grudgingly.

”Should we go wait outside the examination hall?”

”No need, if I passed, someone will surely come to inform us!”

”Nevermind, Wu Zheng, send another person to keep watch!”

After an out-of-sync conversation, Wu Zheng, leaning against the door frame, began to doze off, ”Master, three people have already been sent to keep watch!”

”Oh, then let’s wait a while longer!” Yang Mingcheng once again looked up at the sky that seemed to be brightening.

Time ticked away second by second, Yang Mingcheng growing more restless, much like ants on a hot pan.

It wasn’t that Yang Mingcheng was too anxious, but he was exceedingly expectant of Lu Wenyuan’s results.

By contrast, Lu Wenyuan remained calm throughout; after daybreak, he even asked the servants to make breakfast, and after eating, casually sat back down in the hall to drink tea.

As though the releasing of the spring examination results was a trivial matter of no concern.

As the hour approached 9 a.m., Yang Mingcheng finally calmed down, standing at the entryway of the hall, anxiously peering towards the main door.

”Master, master, I passed!”

”I passed!”

Just as Yang Mingcheng was filled with anticipation, a guard ran in beaming with joy.

”I passed?” Yang Mingcheng exclaimed.

Approaching closer, the guard reported, ”Young Master Wenyuan is the second-highest scorer in this term!”

”Hahaha~~” Yang Mingcheng erupted with joy.

Wu Zheng also let out a sigh of relief; he had feared bad news might arrive. If the news had not been good, perhaps Young Master Wenyuan wouldn’t have taken it too hard, but the master would have likely been crestfallen.

Lu Wenyuan let out a deep breath. Although he appeared calm, he was still worried deep down inside.

It was just that Yang Mingcheng’s excessive reaction made it awkward for him to show his own concern.

”Hahaha, Wenyuan, you did it, the second highest in this term!”

”Haha, the second rank, that definitely ensures a position as a graduate scholar!”

Yang Mingcheng laughed heartily, slapping Lu Wenyuan on the shoulder.

Being ranked second in the imperial examination almost certainly confirmed his position as a graduate scholar.

As long as he didn’t make any major mistakes in the final palace examination, he would at least be a second-class graduate scholar, and if he could perform steadily, there was a great chance for a first-class.

”Big brother, big brother, it hurts!” Before Lu Wenyuan could fully savor the joy of passing the exam, he first felt the heavy-handed pat from his older cousin.

Although he was quite robust, he was noticeably softer compared to Yang Mingcheng.

A few slaps from Yang Mingcheng almost fractured his shoulder.

”Ah, sorry, sorry, I got too excited and didn’t control my strength well!”

Realizing his gaffe, Yang Mingcheng quickly held back, ”Are you okay? Let me see!”

”It’s fine, it’s fine! Big brother, we better report the good news to the family first!” Lu Wenyuan waved his hands dismissively.

”Right, right, right! Let’s inform the family first! Wu Zheng, quickly send someone with the news to our family!” Yang Mingcheng shifted his focus, and Lu Wenyuan breathed a sigh of relief.

And just as Wu Zheng was dispatching the good news throughout the Capital City, the memorial submitted by Yang Zhenshan was laid before Emperor Chengping.

Inside the Taiji Palace’s warm chamber of the Imperial City, a wisp of light smoke rose from the incense burner, the subtle scent of sandalwood suffusing the room.

Emperor Chengping reclined on a cushioned couch, wrapped in a blanket, his posture relaxed as he perused another document.

His face showed a few more signs of age, but his vigor remained solid; he continued to be diligent, attending court every day to deal with state affairs.

After looking through several memorials, he finally came across Yang Zhenshan’s submission.

Upon reading its contents, Emperor Chengping didn’t have many thoughts, as he already had a general understanding of what Yang Zhenshan had been up to recently.

However, when he read about Yang Zhenshan’s intention to build a salt yard, a slight fluctuation crossed his expression.

”Salt yard!”

”It seems that General Yang is quite ambitious,” said Emperor Chengping with a thin smile.

Chen carefully watched his expression and seeing that he was indeed smirking, said, ”General Yang’s ambition is also a demonstration of his loyalty to Your Majesty!”

Chen had previously spoken quite favorably of Yang Zhenshan; his words were merely echoing the emperor’s sentiments, and he didn’t truly care about the person he was praising.

Now, he continued to follow Emperor Chengping’s lead.

Ambition is not necessarily a bad thing.

Who in this world lacks ambition?

If there were none ambitious, then the court of civil and military officials would probably be empty.

Clearly, the ambition that Emperor Chengping spoke of was not of nefarious intent.

”Mm, General Yang is a thoughtful man!” Emperor Chengping commented fairly.

He pondered for a moment and then wrote the word ’approved’ on the memorial.

A single salt yard was not something he cared about much.

It might be a bothersome issue for Duke Ning, but for Emperor Chengping, it was nothing more than a triviality.